Animal traps are devices used to remotely catch and trap animals. Devices similar to the present invention are used to live trap smaller animals while inflicting the least amount of physical injury to the animal as possible. Such traps are of the type wherein a trapper must manually set and position each trap. These trapping devices, usually referred to as foothold traps, generally comprise a latch and trigger system wherein the restraint is spring based. Since the restraints must quickly snap around an animal's limb, the traps and all the components are generally made of steel in order to withstand a trapped animal's attempts to escape.
One problem associated with many of the devices of the prior art relates to the trapper's ability to set the trap. These traps generally use heavy-duty steel springs, which require a significant amount of force and exertion on the part of the trapper in setting the trap. Since these types of traps must tightly and quickly clamp the animal's limb into the device in order to hold the animal in spite of the animal's attempts to remove its limb, the spring force exerted during trapping is generally great. Thus, the restoring force needed to set the trap is also significant. Many trappers have difficulty setting the traps by hand and require addition tools to do so. The task of setting the traps is also exhausting and the resulting strain on the trapper's hands is multiplied each time the trapper sets a trap as in many instances, multiple traps are set.
Moreover, traps of the prior art require the animal's limb to displace and effectively release a trigger to engage the restraint and trap the animal. Prior art triggers are generally lengths of steel simply extending into the trap. A problem associated with these triggers arises in that other animals may have access to the traps without displacing the trigger. Additionally, based on the prior art designs, a significantly sized limb, with a greater amount of force is needed to displace these triggers.